Mercury Studies Team
 The mission of the Mercury Studies team is to provide expert assistance to the USGS and other state and Federal agencies in the form of scientific understanding of mercury in the environment, methods for collecting mercury samples in various media (water, sediment, biota), and analytical support by maintaining a state-of-the-art mercury analysis laboratory.
Objectives
The objectives of the Team are to:
1) within the team, continually seek high-quality projects through cooperator contracts, development of project proposals, execution of the project work elements, and timely completion of reports,
2) provide professional consultation and analytical support to other USGS employees who seek assistance for conducting studies of mercury in the environment
Team History
During the late 1980s, the Wisconsin DNR became aware that a surprising number of lakes in remote locations contained game fish with high levels of mercury. These observations resulted in the start of the Wisconsin WSC’s Mercury Program.
The Mercury in Temperate Lakes (MTL) project and Florida Everglades were the District’s first mercury projects and were directly responsible for redefining what we know about mercury concentrations, sources, and pathways to fish. The Office of Water Quality  provided funding to establish the USGS Mercury Research Laboratory (MRL) in 1994. The MRL immediately began offering low-level mercury analysis for all the USGS and initiated a large, multi-agency mercury investigation in the Florida Everglades.
Methods
Mercury is the most common contaminant of aquatic ecosystems worldwide, however, its sources, pathways and toxicity controlling processes are very complex. In addition, sampling and analytical procedures are very exacting and a great care must be taken to yield reliable data. Some analytical methods are listed at the MRL website Methods page.
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